WHY WE MUST FORGET THE PAST
No one really talks about the messy situation following the dawn of freedom and democracy. The conversation is mostly nostalgic and about the renewal of the liberation movement. This is flogging a dead horse. Something happened after the unbanning, the return and release of political prisoners. Over the last 32 years or so, it has […]
NORTH WEST MEC SAMBATHA LEADS BY EXAMPLE AS HE CHOOSES PUBLIC HOSPITAL OVER PRIVATE HEALTHCARE
Madoda Sambatha, the North West provincial MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development, is a leader who lets his actions to speak louder than words. He won the hearts of scores of people across the country when he visited a public health facility to undergo a tooth extraction procedure. For skeptics, it can be tempting to […]
THE COST OF HYPOCRISY: GAYTON MCKENZIE AND THE WEAPONISATION OF THE K-WORD
When I first heard that Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader and Sports, Arts, and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie had repeatedly used the K-word on social media – South Africa’s most vile and violent racial slur – I wasn’t shocked. Instead, I was enraged! Not because I expected any better from him, but because once again, black pain has been put up for public debate, […]
IN MEMORIAM: JB VILAKAZI – FIFTY YEARS ON, A LIFE STILL MOURNED, A LEGACY STILL HONOURED
This month marks fifty years since the violent and unresolved death of Jabu Bernard Vilakazi, a man whose life was as generous as it was tragically cut short. As we pay tribute to this atypical liberation struggle hero, we remember a life that defied the odds and took a stand to be a protector of […]
PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA REMOVES DR NKABANE AND APPOINTS NEW MINISTER AND DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING
President Cyril Ramaphosa has removed Dr Nobuhle Nkabane from the role of Minister and Higher Education and Training and has in terms of Section 91 (2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa appointed Mr. Buti Kgwaridi Manamela, Minister of Higher Education and Training. Mr. Manamela was until this appointment serving as Deputy […]
NEGLECT OF CHILDREN AND THEIR EDUCATION MARS SA’S FUTURE
At a recent UNISA event in Cape Town, a primary school teacher recounted the heartbreaking story of *Shane, an eight-year-old boy from a single-parent home that was ravaged by drug-addiction, who was deemed a “troublemaker” at school. Like his older brother in the past year, little Shane would be gunned down in a gang crossfire […]
SCORES OF BC ADHERENTS HONOUR THE MEMORY OF MYEZA
Leading theologian, Professor Mamabolo Raphesu, led tributes to honor BCM founder, Muntu ka Myeza in Soweto on Saturday. He decried the poor leadership characterised by looting that has become synonymous with the country since the dawn of democracy. The meeting was organized by the Black Consciousness Movement – United to observe the 35th anniversary of […]
ANC CHIEF SPEAKS ON THE PASSING OF EX-DEPUTY PRESIDENT DAVID MABUZA
“It is with deep sorrow and a heavy heart that we learn of the passing of former Deputy President of the Republic and stalwart of our movement, Comrade David Dabede Mabuza. Comrade Mabuza dedicated his life to the service of the people of South Africa. From his days in the struggle against apartheid to his […]
WHY PRIDE MONTH IS STILL A PROTEST, NOT A CELEBRATION
In South Africa, the month of June is not only Youth Month, it is also the international Pride Month. This is a commemorative month-long observance dedicated to the celebration of LGBTQ+ pride, celebrating the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people in local and international cultures and communities. South Africa is not only […]
THE PRESERVATION OF WHITE PRIVILEGE IS ANTITHESIS TO THE NATION’S DREAM TO BE FREE
This year marks the 49th anniversary of June 16, 1976. It is almost half a century of memory with which we are dealing. Through the dialogue held in Soweto this week, we engaged in a struggle against forgetting. In South Africa, June 16, 1976 was the bravest action undertaken, only 16 years after the Sharpeville Massacre […]
BURKINA FASO’S TRAORE SIGNALS THE RETURN OF REVOLUTIONARY LEADERSHIP IN AFRICA
In Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, a structure has risen that embodies more than just memory: it symbolizes vision, renewal, and resistance. It is the Thomas Sankara Mausoleum. The Thomas Sankara Mausoleum, designed by the internationally acclaimed Pritzker Prize-winning Kéré Architecture, is not merely a tribute to a distinctly revolutionary icon. It is a […]
LUXURY, LAMENT, AND THE LITURGY OF POWER: THE CHURCHES AND THE POLITICS OF POST-LIBERATION SA
When the Pulpit Echoed the Trenches During the liberation struggle, the Church, in many of its denominations, was more than a sanctuary. It was a site of resistance, a haven for activists, a platform where sermons were steeped in justice. Reverends, priests, and preachers defied the apartheid regime not just with words but with active […]